Are you one of the many people who
This past Christmas when I was unboxing my Christmas ornaments, there was a lot of joy. There are many ornaments that were on my tree as a kid and they remind me of childhood Christmas excitement.
One ornament was shaped like Texas from my best friend who lives there. That ornament I hung on to our tree with pleasure.
But then I picked up an ornament that was given to us by a couple who used to attend our church until one day they didn’t come back again and never gave an explanation why.
When I touched the ornament, I felt like I received a punch to the gut. I’ve been hanging this ornament on my tree for years just because it is a nice ornament, but this year I remembered what Marie Kondo teaches about only keeping what sparks joy and I decided not to hang it up. In fact, I passed it along so that I didn’t have to see it again.
It was freeing. Not only did I not feel that pain when I looked at my tree, but the act of passing the ornament along was like I was putting that hurt behind me and moving on.
Part of Marie Kondo’s method of decluttering as shown on Tidying Up, her new Netflix series, is the concept of keeping only what sparks joy. She insists that you hold each item in your hand as you declutter. Do not listen to music or watch TV while decluttering so you are not distracted from noticing how the item makes you feel. If the item doesn’t spark joy, you do not keep it.
Marie Kondo approaches decluttering from her Shinto worldview which teaches that inanimate objects have a spirit or god. In last week’s blog post, Should I Greet My Home, I showed that this is not the case in a Biblical worldview.
So if inanimate objects do not have spirit, why do some of my things spark joy and others do not?
The answer lies in how God made us. Although our objects do not have spirit, we do. God has made us in His image and that includes the emotions that we have. Objects that we hold in our hands trigger our memories and the memories
Because God has anger, love, joy, excitement, jealousy, and pain, so do we. In Genesis 1: 27, God says we are made in His image, both male
God wants us to have joy in life.
He wants us to have joy in His presence in the future in heaven. He also wants us to enjoy this life here on earth. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon tries to figure out eternal happiness. He doesn’t find it anywhere else but in fearing God and obeying His commandments (
John Piper calls this Christian Hedonism.
He describes what he means by the term:
By Christian Hedonism, I do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. I mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. But almost all Christians believe this. Christian Hedonism says more; namely, that we should pursue happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy, you cannot love
We are to pursue happiness. Joy. How can I pursue joy in a completely cluttered home with tons of stuff that doesn’t bring me joy?
I like this part of Marie Kondo’s method and we can do it biblically.
Pay attention to joy. God gives joy and gives us things to enjoy for His glory. That’s what we should have in our home.
What do you think? How much does God-given joy play into what you keep in your home? Comment below!
As I’ve been cleaning out our house the past few weeks, I’ve found a lot of useless things that should have been thrown away ages ago. Piles of paper like old bills, magazines, junk mail. Broken items and toys the kids outgrew ages ago. Some things I don’t even remember getting. But I also come across things we thought we “had to have” that turned out to not be so great or interesting. It’s made me think about my motivation for future purchases. Will this thing be disposable and forgotten? Do I really need it? Why do I want it?
I forget where I heard it, maybe it was Donna Otto on her podcast, where she says that clutter and mess are really just delayed decisions. She’s right. And that’s the hard part for me. The decision making.
Such a great and timely article, Rachel! If we can free up our homes by decluttering then from items that do not bring joy, we can free ourselves and our homes for more ministry. Our homes because they will be more ready for welcoming others and because they will give us more peace and rest. And ourselves because with a peaceful and restful and JOYful home we will be more prepared to minister to those around us, even if they are only those we share the home with. Besides it’s not just creating a JOYful hope for us as an individual, it’s for the whole family. Keep up the fantastic writing. The Christian world needs to hear this response.
That is a GREAT point. I know I would definitely be freer to have people over if I had less stuff so it took less time to clean up. I was reminded of that this week when I read The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield.
This is my third time reading about this show. I think I read your first article actually about a Biblical perspective on items bringing joy. Love that Jeaus would like to bring us peace and joy in our homes.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Brittany. I want to keep decluttering with that in mind. Jesus wants us to have joy.
Or if you’re like me: Do I really need/want this thing?… Do I really need/want this other thing?… Wait, there are HOW many days until the move? *starts shoving things in boxes and bemoaning prior procrastination*
Yes! I totally understand this. Or I tend to ask myself, “but what if I need this later?” I used to tease Tim when I needed something after I got rid of it. I say “That’s it!! I’m never throwing away anything ever again!”
[…] Why does “spark joy” work? […]
So I finally watched this series on Netflix over the weekend. I think Marie Kondo has a point but I’m not sure if her philosophy is for me. I’m not prone to keeping things I don’t need and when it’s time to declutter I do so ruthlessly. Bringing joy equates to minimalism and I think one can have a better balance. So if it allows you to declutter and remove overwhelm, then if joy is the key, do it. Now, I do like the way she folds clothes and that I will try.
That’s interesting. I like what you say about balance. There seems to be a continuum of how effective the “spark joy” question is the more I talk to people about this topic. Some people are already tidy like you so you the spark joy question would cause you to get rid of too much. Other people feel joy with everything since they are so nostalgic and so they would be off balance the other direction.
I love your take! I’m watching the show right now, and I’ve been trying to work out in my mind what you just articulated so well.
I think too that, as a Christian, there’s merit to only holding onto the fewer things that “spark joy” from being a steward viewpoint. We tend to hold onto everything; those things don’t get used, and it’s like we’re held hostage by All THE THINGS. Oh, just realized I’m on a rant. That must be one of my buttons! 😯
Great post and insights.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! Stewardship! Great point! I definitely feel held hostage by the areas in my home where there is too much stuff!
[…] Also in this series: Should I Greet My Home? Why Does Spark Joy Work? […]